NBA Playoffs 2010: Who'll Rise, Fall, or Stay Put (Eastern Conference)

A breakdown of each individual '09 Playoff teams' chances of getting in the 2010 playoffs, and the teams that could replace them.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Cavaliers—Last season's top-seeded team did nothing but improve for this year. They acquired Shaq pretty early for some lower class players, and then signed wings Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon. The team might still be the team to beat in the East this year and will have no problem getting to the postseason.

Celtics—Set back by a Garnett injury last year, the team looks to bounce back with the acquisitions of Rasheed Wallace, Marquis Daniels, and Sheldon Williams. For a team that I personally think has a horrid bench, they've improved it and more. They will be fighting for top position in the postseason, not whether or not they'll get in.

Magic—Now, loosing Hedo Turkoglu, Courtney Lee, and Rafer Alston may look bad when the only headline addition was Vince Carter. However, the Magic also signed Brandon Bass and Matt Barnes to replace the three loses. Also, the Magic will now have Jameer Nelson back from injury. The team is still as good as ever and they'll be seen in the playoffs.

Hawks—The eighth seeded team became the fourth seeded team in 2009. Now instead of a backup point guard they have the 50-point scoring Jamal Crawford. I like that trade, though. They then fixed the need for a backup point guard by drafting Jeff Teague. Now a team with literally ten players looks ready for the playoffs for the third straight season.

Heat—Now the Heat only lost Jamario Moon. They can recover from that. They haven't yet, but it's not completely necessary. He was a good player, but he wasn't a key player.

Now, the Heat are in hot pursuit of Allen Iverson, who could prove to be a good addition to the squad, but he won't like coming off the bench. If the Heat get him, they'll have an improved year over last year.

If they don't, they may struggle a little, and will probably have to settle for a lower seed, but I still see them making it past the regular season, probably as a bottom three seed.

Sixers—Jrue Holiday cannot replace what Andre Miller did for the Sixers, but it's a start, and I think the Sixers had a great draft by drafting Holiday. However, if there's any kind of slip on the team, the Sixers could fall out of the playoffs. It'd be temporary, but don't be surprised if Elton Brand isn't as good as the Sixers need him to be.

If he does work, though, he will be as big of a star as Andre Miller, and the extra Jrue Holiday push could even make the Sixers a better team. Remember, they didn't have Brand last season, so the Sixers technically lost Andre Miller, and gained Brand and Holiday.

Bulls—While I don't think the drafting of James Johnson was smart (as the team already has a few solid post players), it wasn't horrible. The team still is working a solid seven or eight man roster, and the year of experience for Derrick Rose will only make him better.

But Ben Gordon was a good player to have on the team, and the Bulls weren't that far off from missing the playoffs. It's a 50-50 for this season, and one major injury could set them back. Don't be too set off by what I said though, the team is almost the same, and will be fighting for the bottom three seed, and they'll probably get it.

Pistons—Now the Pistons are a completely new team. Being the eighth seed last year, getting an entirely new team makes it a very hard call what the team will be like. If it works, the team will probably be about the same, if it doesn't they will slip.

And that's all you can say about the Pistons at this point.

So it looks like any where between neither and all four of these teams could fall short of the playoff mark, but the good news for those teams is that their competition isn't very intimidating 

But here's who'll put up a good fight.

Raptors—Shawn Marion is a good player, but he didn't really fit in with the Toronto game, and Hedo is really excited about becoming a Raptor. The losses of Anthony Parker and Marion will hurt, but the additions of Marco Belinelli, DeMar DeRozan, Hedo Turkoglu, and Jarrett Jack will make a great team that will push Chris Bosh and the Raptors further than the team went last season.

Wizards—The fate of Washington once again depends on whether or not Agent 0 stays healthy (duh), but a squad with Foye, Young, Arenas, Miller, Butler, Jamison, and Haywood seems like a playoff team.

They will actually most likely make the playoffs this season and will fight for something around the fifth seed—again, I can't say this enough—if Gilbert Arenas stays healthy.

Pacers—The only reason I put them here is because they got so close last season. Although, on paper, this team isn't actually very good. Jeff Foster, Troy Murphy, and Dahntay Jones must be good if they're listed as the starters on ESPN.com, but I've never really heard of them.

I like T.J. Ford, Danny Granger, and Tyler Hansbrough, but I can't really say that I know enough about the team to formulate a good decision. Sorry.

Bobcats—The Bobcats got close last season but look like they're taking steps backwards with adding Gerald Henderson and Tyson Chandler to replace Emeka Okafor and Raymond Felton. If they can get Felton, they could make a push, but otherwise, they may go further back into the lottery.

The Bucks, Knicks, and Nets look like they're starting to prepare for the future, and some of those teams are doing a good job of it.

Personally, I think what the Bucks did this offseason sucked, but that's just me.

And there's the East, a conference that has the first four teams in the playoffs pretty much set up, and the last four are in a position where anything could really happen.